216 Strand

Our historical shop in the heart of London has been trading for over 300 years. Hundreds of teas, accessories and gifts and a state of the art Loose Tea Bar await tea fans from around the world. Sign up for a masterclass with one of our expert tea ambassadors. Most certainly one to add to your list when you visit the capital!

Events at 216 Strand

Book a place or find out more information by calling our Brand Ambassadors on 0207 3533 511.

Chinese New Year Afternoon tea masterclass

Saturday, 28th January 2017 - 4pm to 6pm
£40 per person

Celebrate Chinese New Year with our first Afternoon tea masterclass completely dedicated to China, the motherland of tea. Discover the legend of how tea was discovered, and how much tea drinking has changed ever since. Sip carefully selected Single Origin Chinese tea, hand selected for this occasion, paired with delicious afternoon tea style food.

Should you miss it? Not for all the tea in China!

Valentine’s Day Afternoon tea masterclass

Tuesday, 14th February 2017 - 5pm to 7pm
£40 per person

Celebrate the day of love by treating yourself and your special someone with an unique Twinings tea masterclass. Learn more about tea culture in Britain and its ongoing love affair with the most beloved beverage of all. Marvel at the sight and taste of handmade blossoming teas carefully selected for this event, including the rarest of all types, which used to be enjoyed exclusively by Chinese Empresses.

Book a Valentine’s session featuring unusual and fun teas specially selected for this occasion.

Mother’s Day Afternoon tea masterclass

Sunday, 26th March 2017 - 4pm to 6pm
£40 per person

Celebrate Mother’s day at Twinings with Twinings! Treat your mother to an Afternoon tea Masterclass at our flagship store on the historic Strand in London. Sip carefully selected Twinings teas and enjoy afternoon tea style food served on elegant china, while we will tell you about centuries of tea drinking in Britain, how afternoon teas came to be and how it evolved through the years. We will demonstrate how to make the perfect cup of tea and show you where our superb tea come from

Don’t miss this great chance to spoil your mother!

National Tea Day Afternoon tea masterclass

Friday, 21st April 2017 - 5pm to 7pm
£40 per person

There is no better way of celebrating Britain’s national drink, that at his oldest tea house, our historical Twinings shop on the Strand, London. No other country in the world loves a cup of tea as much Britain does, from the humble builders brew to the elegant cup of Darjeeling enjoyed at an Afternoon Tea.

Lean when tea first arrived on British soil, how much tea has shaped the British society and the length this country has gone for its favourite brew, and why we all have the taste for milk in our tea. All while tasting some of the best teas Twinings has brought you in his over 310 years of activity, including its most loved blends.

Twinings Golden Lyon Anniversary Afternoon tea masterclass

Saturday, 27th and Sunday, 28th May 2017
£40 per person

BOOK A PRIVATE MASTERCLASS

Did you know that you can book a private experience at the historical Twinings shop?

Classic Session:

Mon-Fri morning session £30pp

Mon-Fri private morning session, minimum 2 people £60pp

Mon-Fri afternoon session 6PM to 8PM, minimum 6 people £50pp

Saturday afternoon session 4PM to 6PM, minimum 6 people £50pp

Sunday afternoon session 5PM to 7PM, minimum 6 people £50pp

Bespoke Blending Session:

£150 per session, up to 6 people at a time
One bespoke blend at the end, priced separately, minimum purchase 1kg

Having a Twinings bespoke tea blend exclusively made for you, is without a doubt the ultimate British indulgence. Our team of Tea Experts at our historical store on the Strand are ready to put their expertise in your hands, to help you create the Tea Blend of your dreams. Perfect for special events, wedding favours, unique moments, or simply a wonderful way to treat yourself.

“We recently got married and being slightly tea crazed, our wedding had a distinct tea flavour; tables were named after our favourites tea, one of the readings was the poem “You’re my cup of tea”. So we wanted to make our wedding favours something special and so we spoke to the lovely team on the Strand. We had a tea blending session a few days before the wedding and the wonderful Marta walked us through a lovely afternoon of tea blending. After hundreds of different sips of tea later we hit upon our wedding blend. All our guests got to take a little taste of joy to take home. Can’t express how marvellous you guys were and how happy we are that we got to make something so fantastic to make our day super special. We are still drinking our Wedding blend and every time we do, it’s like a little cup of happiness.”
- Amy Lee

Group Bookings and after hours events: price upon request
Call our Brand Ambassadors at 0207 3533 511 to find out more.

About 216 Strand

Very enjoyable experience

Tea Lover's Dream

Our historical shop at 216 Strand is a must visit place when you are in London.

Located in the heart of the capital directly opposite the Court of Justice, Londoners as well as tea fans from all over the world have been coming to our beautiful store for more than 300 years to shop their favourite Twinings teas, coffees and gifts.

Teas from around the world

216 Strand offers everything from your favourite Twinings teas for every day to exclusive to rare loose leaf teas from around the world.
Did you know that we also stock a great selection of freshly ground coffee?
Our friendly and helpful staff can help you select the perfect tea for you and also advise on the best tea accessories and teaware.

The Tea Bar

Have you been to the store to see our Loose Tea Bar? The media were very excited about this new installation in the store and our customers simply love it. Taste a variety of teas with our beautiful porcelain sampling dishes. You can pick up the tea, smell it and taste it there and then. Dry tea is great but wet tea is better.

The Loose Tea Bar is open throughout the day! Just pop into the store and ask us for a try of a little something!

Pick & Mix

Excellent tea tasting, with expert advice and a huge choice! A wonderfully old shop!

Twinings Masterclass

Our team of tea ambassadors are super passionate about tea and love to share their enthusiasm and expert knowledge with you. The masterclasses last 2 hours. You are going to try six different teas and find out more about the types of tea, their origin, the tea culture in Britain and much more.

Book Your Tea Masterclass Today

The classes run from Monday - Friday, 10am - noon, and we can accommodate between 2 - 6 participants.

Cost for the class including the tasting and all materials is £30 per person.

Call us today on 0207 353 3511 to book your place or to discuss a bespoke package tailored to your needs.

If you're a tea lover, go for it!

History of 216 Strand

Thomas Twining bought Tom's Coffee House on London's Strand in 1706 and from that day forward the Twinings name has been famous for selling some of the best teas in the world. The Strand is a place full of rich heritage and beautiful tea and definitely not one to miss.

The location of the shop was perfect as it straddled the border between Westminster and the City of London, an area that was newly populated with the finest of London’s aristocracy as a result of the Great Fire of London.

By this time Coffee houses were a popular feature of London life. Men - but never women - of all classes would gather there to drink, gossip and to do business. Coffee shops gathered a loyal clientele by specialising in particular products or by encouraging customers with common interests.

Poets for instance would go to one establishment, army officers to another.

Competition between coffee houses was stiff. Fresh ideas and unusual promotional twists were what kept the business alive.

The difference at Tom's was tea. Despite efforts to repress tea-drinking through the stupidly high taxes, tea became increasingly fashionable during the early part of the 18th Century, especially among the upper classes, and they flocked in their masses to buy tea from Tom's Coffee House. In fact, soon he was selling more dry tea than wet at what we think was probably the world's first dry tea and coffee shop. If you'd like to find out even more, then take a look at The History of Twinings.

Did you know that Twinings has got the oldest commercial logo in the UK that has been in continuous use since it was made?

Tea Exhibition

Twinings is all about amazing flavours and premium quality. We are are excited to be at forefront of the 21st century tea revolution. At the same time we are proud of our heritage. Catch a glimpse of more than 300 years of tea history whilst you are browsing the store.

Included in our fabulous exhibition are the original copy of our Royal Warrant (granted by Queen Victoria in 1837), a selection of iconic Twinings tea caddies (curated by Stephen Twinings, our most passionate tea ambassador at the Twinings HQ) and historic packaging as well as original paintings of the Twinings founders

How to Find Us:
We are located exactly opposite the Royal Courts of Justice.

Tube: Our nearest tube Temple (District and Circle lines) is a short 2-minute walk away. Simply walk straight up the road to Strand from the tube station, turn right and you'll find us in about 200 yards. Or get the tube to Charing Cross and have a nice wander down the road.